That’s as far as I got. So, I’ll go back to my original thought. With Tim Lincecum’s Giants coming to town this weekend (he won’t be pitching), I thought back to the 2006 draft when we took Kershaw a couple picks ahead of Lincecum.

Of course, the right-hander has gone on to win a couple Cy Youngs so clearly he’s an incredibly talented pitcher but here’s my question to all of you: As you sit here on Sept. 1, 2010, with Kershaw leading the NL in strikeouts and just 22 years old, would you rather have him or Lincecum under your team’s control over the next three years.

Obviously Lincecum has had a down year by his standards, though still not bad (11-9, 3.80, 179 K, 1.35 WHIP) while Kershaw is 11-8 (possibly 11-9), with a 3.01 after today’s outing.

Given what you know about both, if you could only have one on your team next year, who would it be and why? And of course, pretend you’re not a Dodger fan and try to be objective.

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having Lincecum in our 08 and 09 play-offs with these phils may of been the stepping stone the dodgers needed to reach the World Series. This then begs another question would lincecum and kershaw of developed under the instruction provided by honeycutt and righetti if they were picked in opposite order. And now I am finding out we did have a chance to get lincecum?

I’d take Kershaw. Lincecum is a sickly little pot-head and will go down hill. He is having his troubles already this year and will be useless to the Giants.
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Right now, I’m fishing disappointed in the way our team has played….looks like they all need some 5-Hour Energy.

Honestly putting being a Dodgers fan aside, I would still rather have Clayton Kershaw on my team over Tim Lincecum. My two favorite pitchers are Roy Halladay and Clayton Kershaw. Halladay for his dedication and Kershaw because I feel that he has so much talent that he will be able to go the distance into a long career. Clayton is only 22 years old and I think that calling him an “Ace” is very fitting. He can pitch long into a game with 110+ pitches, strikeout an amazing amount of batters, pickoff base runners well, and just allow very few runs. However, while Lincecum can strikeout many batters as well, I don’t believe that his ability to do so is any better than Kershaw’s. In Lincecum’s last 5 starts he is 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA, and clearly way more overrated than Kershaw. Clayton gets very little credit for how good of a pitcher he is so many people would choose Tim, but Clay will prove that his is the better pitcher in the end.

I see that the Yankees put in a waiver claim on Lilly, but Ned pulled him back. Shrewd move Ned, especially after his last outing which was more indicative of his true pitching prowess than the first 5 games were. Oh, but Ned still feels we’re in it at 6 1/2 games out. What a fishing moron. Then he says they want to sign him long term. Ah yes, another 34 year old vet who can go nothing but downhill over the life of his contract if they even had the money to sign him, which they don’t.
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Shrewd indeed Ned. Shrewd indeed.

Ah what difference does it make, when you have a BP like ours, whose sole mission now is to implode, and lose more games, so the net worth of the team is low, Yea you get the point Im coming to. Sell the team Frank

I don’t have to pretend to be a Dodger fan. It is too late for anything else! Anyway, I also would take Kershaw over Lincecum because, as johncox already said, Clayton is a lefty but also because I still believe he will get much better. As good as Lincecum is, will he get any better? He also has some mileage on him, that crazy delivery, long hair and a fondness for pot. Is that being objective?

I’d have to go with Kershaw. Lincecum’s delivery is suspect (just look at his record now as he scrambles to find another comfortable motion). Lincecum might’ve been successful in the short term, but Kershaw has more long-term potential.

Good question Josh!! Even back then, I would have picked Kershaw because he is left-handed, just like others have mentioned. Having a son who is a lefty pitcher, they are the hot commodity still. Jump ahead to now, and I am glad we have Kershaw because Linsecum’s work ethic has become suspect in this last season. They are saying his before game routines have changed, not doing his long toss like he used to and spending more time in the dugout instead of on the field before s game. So, in retrospect, I am so glad we have Kershaw. Let’s just hope he stays ours for a while.

Seriously, can this judge make anyone sell the team? As far as I know this trial is to determine ownership of the Dodgers and nothing else. The fact that this mess got to trial means more money down the drain for attorney’s fees. How can these people afford this? No matter who wins, everyone looses.

I saw bits and pieces of that article just a little while ago. What a fishing aspirin!!!!! So, it’s pretty much inevitable that our current young core will not be here in two years, if that long, if FranknJamie own this team. The MLB has managed to bring in a Bostonian, a ex-Giant, and a Yankee and has let them single-handedly destroy this franchise from the farm system on up. If the McCourts aren’t forced to sell this team, we are in for a very long state of depression (financially speaking) for our beloved Dodgers. What a mess they have created. Meanwhile, MLB just sits there and watches it fall apart. Like many have said, Selig allowed franknjamie to purchase the team, and right now, what does he care. It’s a west coast team, and I am guessing Selig is thinking “Big Fishing Deal!!” It’s just a west coast team.

enchanted, scum is a pretty decent analogy. But I’ve been thinking. This owner–and the product he’s plotting to foist on Los Angeles–has gone far beyond paper bags. Those funny little masks are usually reserved for embarrassed fans of hapless franchises. This Dodger situation borders on criminal and there is nothing hapless going on here. If I wasn’t grounded in the name kahliforni, I might call myself instantkarma’sgonnagetyouFrankyoulousystinkinglyingSOB.

That this guy is STUPID enough to go to trial and parade his festering lies in public speaks volumes of the cowboy at the wheel.

Changing the name of Dodger Stadium? Unfishingbelieveable!!!!! Dodger fans have put up with quite a bit these last few years, but this, changing the name of Dodger Stadium idea, just might be enough to tip quite few over into the deep end for a very long time.

We will be down in So-Cal, but not for the tour. I was sitting on the fence as it was, thanks to Frank, but my mind was made up for me when the date was set. Even though I will be with my family this weekend, I really don’t think I can sit with my son and hubby at Dodger Stadium while playing the gnats this time around. I am having a hard time as it is now at home. Let’s face it, the gnats are playing better than the Dodgers right now, and if we win, fantastic!! I want nothing better. However, if we lose and help put the gnats to the top of this division or the wildcard, I will never hear the end of it at least until somebody knocks them back down.

Let me rephrase that. My mind wasn’t necessarily made up when the date was set, but over the last few weeks, it has been just based on how the two teams have been playing. I am not a fair weather fan, (I am in total support of the players, regardless of how they are playing right now), but I do have my limits on how much harrassment I can take from gnat fans, and I am surrounded by them in my family and at work. I actually enjoy my class this year, and so I have been trying to avoid being pisssed off before I even walk through my classroom door by gnat talk.

If you read the article, notice too that whenever an influx of cash is needed his answer is always to seek more leveraged loans. Not once do you ever see him/them think of selling one of their multi-million dollar mansions or any of their personal assets. This guy makes Leona Helmsley look like Mother Teresa.

“A man with a briefcase can steal more money than any man with a gun” -Don Henley

I just read the same article, e. I was about to post the site when I saw you beat me to it.

I cannot believe that Selig allows this leech to continue to own the Dodgers. On the other hand, Selig allowed him in here in the first place, hat in hand. So removing him would be admitting his error, and he’s not about to do that. Also, I noticed that mccourt was present when Selig got a statue of himself erected in Milwaukee last month. Two huge egos, huh?

I’ve abandoned any hope of mccourt losing the team due to any court decision. As we’ve all read recently, he does two things well: borrow money and sue. So, even if the biotch wins half the team, he’ll tie the whole thing up in appeals long enough to launch the cable network and get himself more spending money.

I think we’re in the uncomfortable position of depending on the government. We need the (gulp) IRS to be our champion and toss the jackasss in the clink with all the other criminals.

Here?s the straw that broke the camel?s back for me. Unfortunately, I am about seven weeks late in realizing the truth.
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Frank?s business plan for the Dodgers included reducing money spent on the farm system and scouting. ?While the McCourts were living large, the Dodgers, in 2008 and 2009, spent less than any other MLB team on the draft and international-player signings, an area the team once dominated.?http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5374371
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Given that, I can no longer root for the Dodgers, and this will be my last post until we get new ownership.
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In the meantime, my rooting interests will be as follows:
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?If Jamie McCourt wins the trial and the team is ruled community property, one of the McCourts could buy out the other by joining forces with deep-pocketed investors, or the McCourts could sell. In either case, a new ownership group could be in place.?
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I?m looking for new ownership that has zero McCourts. When that happens, I?ll be back.

From Simmers’ column:
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Day 3 of the Dodgers trial, and it’s just me and Frank standing in the courthouse hallway after he’s spent the entire day on the witness stand, and the first words he says to me are, “I just know we lost.”
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It turns out he’s talking about the Dodgers game Wednesday and not the trial, a bummer as you might imagine for fans.
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I’m surprised he knows the outcome because when he goes into court at 1:30, his noon lunch break beginning just as the game does, he says in answer to my question he has no idea how the Dodgers are doing.
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A court official standing nearby says, “I bet he knows the attendance.”

I must separate the Dodgers organization from the Dodgers Team.
Long ago I use to support both, the team on the field which was amazing, even through rough seasons I supported them and the Dodgers Organization as the best in baseball. Now, the court proceedings have produce some very “disappointing” images of the the Dodgers ownership, that has influenced the organization, that I cannot support. I love the The Dodgers as a Team, although a “disappointing” season.
I remain a fan, praying for new ownership of The Dodgers.

Hello ITD!
Just like koufax1963, I remain a fan praying for better days ahead. there are twelve home games remainding and God willing, I’ll attend all of them. No road trip to SD for me as I got Jury Duty in downtown next week.
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I did not realized the ITD tour and game is for this Saturday. I will be there. Just that I was going to get a ticket to sit with you all but boy is already this Saturday. I just sent email to Bryan and Brett.
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I do have my voucher for two tours that is included in my season tix. Who is coming? where is the group sitting? any plans to do anything afterwards? If not, I’ll do something close by myself.
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

As close as they are to bankruptcy, it won’t take much to push them all the way to BK. We just need to hold down their revenue by boycotting everything Dodgers. That includes watching them on TV and listening on the radio. Not so hard when it’s Charlie Steiner, but much tougher when it involves Vinny.
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So, who is willing to join the boycott?

OK, so I got email that they will not honor the season ticket voucher for the tour. That is OK, I have taken the tour many times and I might still go but who is going from here? also I emailed Bryan and he said as of now he has not gotten an order for the group.
The game, God willing, I will be there. The tour, well, maybe. I could use the time to take care of other things.

bear, I think it was you who earlier posted a link to a divorce story while apologizing for the redunancy factor or something like that. One of the best things (for me, anyway) to do when clicking on those stories is to read the comments that sometimes are available. Reading those comments is very comforting.

A lot of Angelenos DO share your feelings.

I don’t live very close to LA, but if any of us ITDers wanted to meet at the courthouse before this trial is over, I’d take a vacation day to join you in protest. Boy, it sure would be fun to voice my “frustration” to mccourt, live and in person.

Here’s the latest as I kind of, sort of, understand it. The massive loan documents list both geeks as co-owners. Those seem really binding, so the judge might throw out those six contested marital documents (three of which say Jamie is co-owner, three of which name Frank only). If that happens, they’ll be forced to sell and the Dodgers get a new owner. But the BIG problem will be the expected appeals, which could stall this thing for a couple more years within the legal system…years in which the Dodger franchise spirals into the oncoming black abyss. I would hope that true-blue lifers like Tommy and his cronies will step to the plate and DEMAND the carpetbaggers leave town. But that’s a pipe dream.
TAR & FEATHER FRANK & JAMIE
TAR & FEATHER THE GUY THAT APPROVED FRANK & JAMIE
TAR & FEATHER THE GROUP THAT APPROVED THE GUY THAT APPROVED FRANK & JAMIE

At this point, I wouldn’t put it past McCourt to use the trial and the dirty diamonds mined throughout to engender disdain for the team amongst all but the truest of the bluest in L.A. … then use the turning tides to move the team elsewhere, selling 300 acres of downtown LA (Heretofore exhibited as Blue Land 1 and Blue Land 2, and adjacent McCourt HoldCo properties) to the highest bidder to pad his pockets on the way outta town.

Could explain why he’s been so insistent on lying to everyone’s faces as he pulls up the roots of all that is Dodger Tradition and rebrands it in his image (Camelback Ranch, the planned renaming of Dodger Stadium).

Dodgers moved once. Two NFL teams moved in the same year.

HIGHLY IMPROBABLE, but I wouldn’t put it past this self-absorbed grinch, knowing what he’s capable of.

The sooner he loses control of the Dodgers, the better. Unfortunately, Jamie gets grilled after Frank, so whatever atrocities we have not yet been able to imagine could turn the tides in the favor department towards …. what am I talking about, how could anyone root for any of these self-absorbed nouveau-riche debutantes in the Big League Sandbox?

The only thing that has become evident during this trial is that it has been shown, under oath, that Frank is a two-face who has a now-proven record of flattering one’s face with a knife to their back.

The Dodgers will always be bigger and stronger than these two. The Dodgers will survive. That’s the important thing to remember. It’s just sad that we have to be party to one of the ugliest incidents in the history of the once-Brookyn Baseball Club.

Then again… Walter O’Malley was a pretty shrewd lawyer. Could you imagine if journalistic transparency laws and twitter had been around when him and Branch Rickey were duking it out for control of the franchise?

Good Moring ITDland ~ Just saw, again, on the Homepage, how Andre has struggled since the AS Game……well, the entire fishing team has struggled! Not just Andre!!! If the team had played better, we would have been in first place. I’m tired of all the soap trying to put the blame for our teams’ demise on Andre alone.

Anyone that attends anything at the stadium is helping McCourt maintain ownership. The only way we as fans can protest this dismantling of a once proud franchise and what it’s become under these 2 low lives is to stay away. Then and only then will he be forced to sell!

Good morning ITD!
Is going to be hot day today here in the Southland but it is a beautiful day!
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Dodger32,
What about us that are season ticket holders? Winter is much too cold without baseball so I’ll savor the last days of Summer at Blue Heaven on Earth. I almost saw a no-hitter by Kuroda. The following day he signed my scorebook. I asked him and he told me in English “after I finish here.” Then I saw Kuo warming up throwing to two fans then one fan suggested a little kid that was very good. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the day since the Dodgers lost that day but you never know what will happen at a baseball game.
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Tonight I want to see Jon SooHoo throw out the first pitch! I posted three pictures I’ve taken of him in my latest post.
Congratulations Jon! I am looking forward to taking pictures of you throwing out the first pitch!
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Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/09/dodger_team_photographer_jon_s.html
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P.S. For the Ethierholics, there is a new women shirt with a little heart , inside the heart is #16. They also have it for Kemp. Not sure if they had it before but it had been a while since I had gone insde the team store.

No excuses for the young guys because they’re all underachieving, but where’s our proven veteran leadership? I don’t imagine Blake ranks very high in anything except strikeouts. Furcal never gives you a full season. Manny, oh yeah he’s gone. Pathednik? Theriot’s hits were mostly with the Cubs.

But the media, just like management, wants to shift all of the focus and blame to Kemp, Dre and the rest. Management does it for two reasons I think. (1) to shift blame off of the PVLs THEY signed and traded for, thus taking the implied blame off of management. (2) It’ll make it easier for the fans to accept when they either trade the young guys or they go FA.

Hey all, hope you’re all doing well. I haven’t read a word of the McCourt trial stuff, as the only words I want to read are “McCourt’s forced to sell”. In the meantime, I am 100% behind my team, and can’t wait for the tour tomorrow. See you tomorrow Josh, Emma, and anyone else going!

I saw that article last night tru. They must have taken all their information from Charlie Steiner who apparently doesn’t ever have anything good to say about Andre unless he helps the team win a game, and then he’s the hero until the next game and then it’s back to the slumping. Well, let’s look at Andre and see how he is doing compared to his teammates. I am not saying he is having the season he had last year because I expected greater things from him too, but he was on the DL, and it’s not like anybody on this team is having the season they had last year either. I put how Andre ranked amongst his teammates and then I put who is ranked 1st on the team.

Also see that Kemp is first in three categories. OK, fourth with the K’s. I dislike how a certain person of the media picks on him. One person ruins it for the rest of the media as the guys might not want to talk to anyone else.

I am hoping the McCourt name is gone after this season, but I am going to represent this group here, and show love for our boys in blue who don’t deserve to have all this drama around in the last month of the season.

I wouldn’t be the President of the Ethieraholics if I didn’t know this information🙂 I have tried really hard all season not to place any blame on any players. Right now, I feel they are just the product of a very bad organization (Frank, Ned and Joe)right now that seems to have done everything in their power to undermine any amount of success the could have had.

The more I read, the more my mouth hits the floor that these two wannabe albatrosses could even get within five miles of owning the storied Los Angeles Dodgers. With all the loans and leveraging and smoke and mirrors…hell, ITD could have bought the club and done a better job at running it! I hope Bud Selig and his good ol’ boys come down with severe cases of boils and impetigo.

My late night idea sounds crazy, but then again, so do the “care”takers of the Dodgers.

I could totally see Frank using any excuse to make bank on the 300 acres of Chavez Ravine. That’s likely why he doesn’t care about any of the previously owned real estate.

So where does he move them? Back to Brooklyn? Camelback was built in a proverbial day, maybe he could make Keyspan Park MLB-worthy in an offseason.

The Boston Dodgers? I could see it now, the Red Sox moving to a new stadium and bequeathing a crumbling Fenway Park to the Dodgers while Frank waits to earn enough money to buy the Parking Lot back from Fox to build a stadium there. Carpetbag Ranch?

Beijing Dodgers? The only thing stopping that from happening is the travel schedule.

Yeah, sure, Frank’s so far in debt, he might never see his way out if forced to sell the team. But post-2013, when the TV rights kick in, all bets are off.

(Of course, Frank would appeal any undesireable trial outcome. With CA Divorce Appeals court having a 36 month waitlist, 3 years is all he needs for the cash to start flowing).

Well, I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.

The team can still salvage the season by keeping the Gnats out of the playoffs this year. I know the game will be on at work, and the place will be dressed in orange in black. Let’s see some sad-day faces in NorCal today!

My favorite line was this one… note how they have to throw in at the end that these weren’t all Ned’s debacles:
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“History shows that the more money Los Angeles spends on players, the greater the failure rate, a trend established long before Ned Colletti became general manager.”
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No, Ned just accelerated the trend and became the poster child of worthless FA signings:
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Ramirez is only the sixth-highest financial commitment the Dodgers have made in recent years — Brown, $105 million; Shawn Green, $85 million; Darren Dreifort, $55 million; J.D. Drew, $55 million (the Dodgers paid $22 million of it); Jason Schmidt, $47 million (NED); Ramirez, $45 million (the Dodgers paid $33 million of it) (NED.) Rounding out the top 10 are Juan Pierre, $44 million (NED); Rafael Furcal, $39 million (NED); Andruw Jones, $36.2 million (NED); and Derek Lowe, $36 million.

Good afternoon ITD boys and girls!
Okay, I understand all of the sentiment against Frank and Jamie. For heaven?s sake, I have the exact same feelings about them. And I?m with all of you for calling out Frank and Jamie and raking them over the coals for what they have done to this franchise, not to mention to Dodger fans. And I said something like this not that long ago, but it doesn?t help matters if a person decides to come onto ITD and (1) not only berate Frank and Jamie (which I wholeheartedly support) but then (2) proceed to belittle every person that ?attends anything at the stadium.? If you don?t want to come to the stadium, that?s your personal choice, just the same as it is our choice to attend events at the stadium. If you don?t want to attend, don?t. But don?t belittle or think anything less of a person that does. You can make your choice and we can make our own choices. Thumbing your nose and talking down to people that you have never met does NO GOOD.

Emma/Mike ? As for the tour, I?ll be there! I plan to have a blast! See ya there!

Deb ? Sorry to hear that you won?t be there. Hope all is going well. Have a safe trip home.

IM ROLLING WITH TIM LINCECUM ALL THE WAY..YEA HE GOT CAUGHT SMOKING WEED AND HAD A BAD AUGUST LAST YEAR..BUT HE STILL PROVED TO BE A REAL ACE BY WINNING THE WORLD SERIES. HE EVEN PITCHED IN GAME 4 WHEN HE DIDNT NEED TO..BUT KERSHAW HAS A LOONG WAY TO GO TO BE EVEN COMPARED TO TIM LINCECUM..WOMEN LIE MEN LIE BUT NUMBERS DONT….GIANTS ALL THE WAY (AGAIN)
KILL THE DODGERS…THE GIANTS OWN THE DODGERS..WERE’RE 3-0 AGAINST THE DODGERS THIS YEAR IN SPRING TRAINING..LOOK OUT FOR MADISON BUMGARNER,MATT CAIN, JONATHAN SANCHEZ,AND BRIAN WILSON..WE HAVE THE MOST COMPLETE TEAM IN BASEBALL PERIOD. AND WE DIDNT HAVE TO SPEND MILLIONS LIKE THE YANKS,SOXS,OR DODGERS. WITH THE PITCHING STAFF WE HAVE, I DONT SEE A LOT OF TEAMS BEATING US..HELL..THE A’S ARE BETTER THAN THE DODGERS THIS YEAR..I CANT WAIT TO PLAY THE DODGERS IN THE SEASON OPENER IN LA…WATCH AND LEARN

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